The 157th Air Refueling Wing was recognized for outstanding performance during the 147th National Guard Association of the United States conference, Aug. 23.
The wing earned The Distinguished Flying Unit and The Curtis N. “Rusty” Metcalf Awards for their achievements in 2025.
During the conference, Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau and Senior Enlisted Advisor John Raines, celebrated the Guard’s value as an elite force alongside all components of the U.S. Air Force.
“Our nation needs us to continue to think big, lead change, innovate and collaborate,” Nordhaus urged. “We must evolve our homeland, warfight and partnership efforts to meet future challenges, so we will be stronger together and stronger tomorrow.”
The Distinguished Flying Unit is presented annually by the NGAUS and recognizes the most outstanding flying unit in the Air National Guard based on operational performance, mission accomplishment and unit training and readiness.
“Our Airmen are the best of the best,” said Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Reiter, command chief of the 157th Air Refueling Wing. “They lead with excellence every day in everything they do.”
According to NGAUS, the award is a mark of flying excellence within the Air National Guard and total unit excellence in leadership, readiness, safety, and community service.
The Maj. Gen. Curtis N. “Rusty” Metcalf Award recognizes total force excellence. The award honors effectiveness in mission execution, innovation, outstanding unit management, and community outreach.
“We made history by executing the first KC-46 Force Generation deployment,” said Col. Nelson Perron, commander of the 157th Air Refueling Wing. “We delivered a 100% mission rate and our Airmen went above and beyond, creating innovative solutions to Beyond Line of Sight communications that will have lasting impacts to the enterprise and how our nation executes operations.”
The criteria also highlights unit morale, esprit de corps and community involvement.
“I could not be more proud of this Wing and what our Airmen do day in and day out,” said Perron. “This recognition is about the consistent hard work and effort our members continue to put forward.”